Speeches & Articles

Remarks of Consul General Henry V. Jardine
COPE India 2005

Hyatt Hotel, Kolkata
November, 16 2005

Distinguished Guests, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to our reception this evening as we celebrate the India – U.S. Joint Air Force exercise COPE India at Kalaikunda Air Field.  While the perception may be that U.S. forces in East India is a recent development, we should remember that the very existence of Kalaikunda has much to do with U.S. presence here during World War II. 

The concrete runway had initially been constructed to support the B-24 bomber as part of Allied military operations in East Asia.  The 20^th Bomber Command (under the Command of Henry “Hap” Arnold and later General Curtis E. Lemay) was resident at Kalaikunda from 13 April 1944 until 4 May 1945, when it departed to Tinian in the Marianas islands.

In April 1944, the runway was lengthened from 6000 feet to 7200 feet for the B-29 Superfortress.  Four squadrons of B-29s flew in attacks as far south as Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and the oil fields of Borneo.  

Another resident unit was the 1^st Air Transport Squadron, which flew “the Hump” over the Himalayas to support Allied forces in Southwest China from March 1944 to May 1945.  The Transport Squadron flew a total of 39,439 hours including 3,078 Hump trips. 

U.S. planes also transported Indian troops.  In April 1945, 38 C-47s departed Kalaikunda and dropped the 22^nd Battalion of the 77^th Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army over Akyab in Burma.  

During India’s war with Communist China in 1962, and in Bangladesh’s Independence war, the base again saw action, helping with India’s military supply operations and playing a critical role in the military campaign. 

As we can see, Kalaikunda has a much-storied history and an important chapter of that included the U.S. Air Force.   We are pleased that Kalaikunda was chosen for this joint air exercise, COPE India ’06.  Thank you all for joining us today as we go forward together in a new era in Indo-U.S. military cooperation, which had started here in East India over 60 years ago.

To reflect on the growing relationship between our two countries, it is now my distinct privilege and pleasure to introduce Chargé d' Affaires Robert Blake.  Thank you.